


Because all of your lovers eventually fade (and leave you alone)

by burntoashes



Category: The 100
Genre: Angst, Anya & Lexa Are Siblings (The 100), Bisexual Clarke Griffin, Bisexual Echo (The 100), Bisexual Raven Reyes, F/F, Fluff, Happy Ending, Lesbian Anya (The 100), Lesbian Lexa (The 100), Lesbian Luna (The100), only a small amount
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:54:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24514201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burntoashes/pseuds/burntoashes
Summary: Echo spends the majority of her life trying to find a partner, she'll settle for anyone half decent. She really deserves better.
Relationships: Anya/Raven Reyes, Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Echo/Luna (The 100), Octavia Blake/Lincoln
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	Because all of your lovers eventually fade (and leave you alone)

**Bellamy**

Echo first met Bellamy at a bar. It wasn't a nice one. In fact it was the complete opposite. The door was barely hanging on to its frame, the floor was rotted, the tables were sticky and dirty and the walls were cracked. Even the beer tasted at least ten years out of date. But it was cheap and it got her drunk.

He had sat down next to her and bought them both another round. He was decent enough looking and would be a perfect distraction so, after one more round, she wasted no time in suggesting that they found somewhere private. He had given her a quick look over then dragged her eagerly out the bar and to a hotel room somewhere. She had left as soon as it was over.

***

She found herself at the same bar the next week, once again drinking the to bitter beer and ignoring the hope in her that maybe he would show up. When he slid into the seat next to her, she chanced a small smile at him that he returned, full force, and she thought that maybe that hope wasn't too misplaced.

***

He asked her on an official date two weeks later and she found herself tearing through her wardrobe, trying to find the perfect thing to wear. She eventually settled on a dress that itched in all the wrong places but made her look good. The date was ok, she found out that he was soon to be the CEO of a building company and she forced back the part of her brain that wanted to laugh at all the stereotypes. He managed to fill in most of the small talk and brushed past her vague answers without too much thought.

Soon, she found herself agreeing to another date because _it wasn't that bad and she probably wouldn't get much better_.

***

Suddenly, a few more dates became a monogamous relationship that she wasn't ready for but hadn't said no to. She found herself being introduced to his friends, to his rich father, to his sister and her boyfriend. She had liked Octavia and Lincoln even if it was clear her relationship with Bellamy was barely even there. When they got home that night she had listened to him explain that they were only half sisters and had agreed when he said that it was stupid of her to run off with some boy she barely knew.

Their first anniversary rolled around and Echo quickly cancelled her plans to show Bellamy her favourite hiking trail when he surprised her with tickets to Paris. She loved the surprise, honestly she did, but all it meant was more dressing in uncomfortable dresses and more listening to him talk in a fancy, candlelit restaurant. She would rather be in the woods.

She would rather be anywhere but there.

***  
Two years later and he was in front of her, on one knee, a ring in his hand. A crowd of people were watching, a few behind him holding up signs asking her to marry him. She could barely see it through the tears in her eyes. She could feel her airways closing and she desperately heaved for air. All she could focus on was the ten, hundred, thousand people watching and she couldn't take. 

She ran.

She ran out of the restaurant and onto the street, stopping in a dark alleyway that he would never come down. She forced herself to stop, calm down and think. She knew she didn't want to marry him, she never wanted to see him again. So she hailed a cab and gave them the address of their shared apartment, asking them to wait outside. She packed up her things and put them in a big, realising sadly that if she left behind all the dresses he had given her, she barely had anything of her own. Only a few sets of clothes, a watch and a Lara Croft figurine that she had never shown Bellamy because she knew he would throw it out. When she came back down, the cab driver gave her a sympathetic look and she smiled tightly, giving them another address. 

They arrived at her friends bar in 20 minutes, and she thanked the driver, paid them and watched them drive away. She only gave herself a second to think about it before she grabbed her bag and headed into the building.

She hoped she would never see Bellamy again.

**Roan**

The room in Roans bar was nice enough and he let her stay free of charge. She offered to work a few shifts for him in return and she accepted gratefully. It wasn't bad work and she would be lying if she didn't find the first few shifts behind the bar slightly cool, but the bar wasn't massively well known and it was barely scraping by on its few regulars.

It didn't take long for her to get drunk on a night off and pull Roan upstairs to her room. She remembered nothing the next morning but her body ached and her head felt clearer that it had since she left Bellamy, despite the hangover.

***  
She dragged him upstairs every night she wasn't working, slowly becoming less and less drunk each time. They never spoke of it outside of her room and he never stayed the night. But it became a dangerously comfortable thing. She no longer had to ask for her drink at the bar, he knew it. She just had to send him a look and he would nod and start walking up the stairs to her room, not even glancing back.

It all became too comfortable.

***

It became uncomfortable quickly when he got a boyfriend. He was always at the bar and suddenly, now that that she couldn't talk about it she felt the burning desire to. So she went back to getting drunk every free night she had and he went back to just serving her drinks.

**Raven**

The bar only had a few regular customers, so every new person through the door stuck out and was treated extra well. So when a loud brunette walked in, a brace on her leg and limp in her walk, asking for the quickest thing to get her drunk, she was intrigued. She got the girl drunk as fast as she could as listened attentively as the she explained how her boyfriend apparently had another girlfriend who had no idea she existed. Finn had been playing them both from the very beginning. It confused her when the brunette told her that her and Clarke, the other woman, were now best friends. Surely that wasn't a healthy start to any friendship.

But then, who was she to talk about healthy relationships.

***

Raven, as the girl introduced herself her second time in the bar, soon became a regular and Echo began to find herself looking forward to her visits. The brunette was loud and wild and Echo never had to do anything to entertain her.She brought the spirit of the place up as well as a few extra customers through the door. But Echo also enjoyed her company, actually enjoyed her company.

She didn't just like the distraction she provided, she enjoyed listening to the girls tales and jokes, and once she became comfortable with the teasing she managed to get a bit of her own in.

For the first time in a while, Echo felt that she was actually, finally becoming herself.

***

She thought all that would change when Raven brought in a tall blonde girl 2 months later. Raven introduced Anya as her girlfriend, explaining that she wanted Anya to meet all her friends and that included Echo. Hearing Raven call her a friend gave her a small rush and a boost of confidence, because that meant Raven cared about her too.

It turned that she didn't need to worry. Her and Anya quickly bonded over their shared love of the outdoors and were soon discussing their favourite hiking routes while Raven watched them both with a content smile.

So no, maybe Raven wasn't a love interest, but she considered it the turning point of her life. The moment things truly started to get better.

**Luna**

After three more visits from both Raven and Anya, Echo was really starting to get comfortable with her life. The bar was starting to get more attention and upgrades were being made to the place and she had two genuine friends who trusted her. So she was really starting to get comfortable.

Of course, things were shaken up when Raven burst into the bar with not only Anya, but a whole group of friends. She sauntered over to the bar, clearly already tipsy, and slammed her hands down onto the wooden surface, startling Echo and the whole bar.

"Echo," she whispered loudly, "I want you to meet my family."

***  
She was introduced to everyone quickly and she grasped desperately at any detail to remember with name went with which face. There was Raven and Anya, and then the gorgeous brunette was Lexa. The one that Lexa would never stop staring at (she later learned that they were at the bar to celebrate their engagement) was Clarke. She had a small shock when she saw Octavia and Lincoln, but they were obviously too drunk to remember her and she decided that was a conversation for later, or maybe never.

Then there was another girl, she hung back from the rest of the group, not having a partner to stay with. She gave Echo a small smile and introduced herself as Luna. Echo returned the smile and gave her own name, watching in delight as the small upturn of Luna's lips became a full grin.

***

Talking with Luna was surprisingly easy and they stayed by the bar the entire night, Luna only moving away when Raven called out for her to _beat her girlfriend at darts because she couldn't_. Luna smiled and shrugged at her, walking away after a promise of returning.

Echo blushed when Raven swayed over and asked her when she would be proposing. She had looked away and denied it, but she knew, and she thought Raven did too, that it was an obvious lie. But Raven was a good friend and didn't say anything, quickly moving on to talk about how gay and in love Clexa, as she had named Clarke and Lexa, were.

***

Luna had returned a while later, having been sorely beaten at darts by Anya, and Raven gave her and wink before hopping to go congratulate her girlfriend. They talked for a while longer, until Roan popped his head out of the back and told her that it was closing time. She made a quick scan of the room and negotiated with Roan to let Raven's friends stay the night in the spare rooms. There would be enough if she sacrificed her room.

With Luna and Anya's help she managed to drag all the couples into their own respective rooms. Anya followed Raven into her room and soon it was just Echo and Luna standing in the hallway. She quickly led Luna to her room and let her in. When Luna asked where she would sleep, she smiled slightly and told her that she had a room downstairs waiting for her. Thankfully Luna seemed pretty tired and didn't question it, letting her walk out the room and quietly shut the door behind her. 

She sighed deeply and carefully made her way downstairs, skipping the steps that she knew creaked loudly. She picked out the comfiest couch in the bar and, ignoring the spots where she was stuck to the fabric, closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep.

***

She woke in the morning before everybody else. She peeled herself off the couch and groaned quietly when she saw that some of the sticky substance was on her leather jacket. That had been one of her favourites. She made her way into the storeroom, rifling through the cupboards until she found enough Advil for everyone. She headed over to the makeshift kitchen and pulled out 7 glasses, filling them with water and setting them on a spare waiting tray.

Carefully carrying the tray and the Advil, she made her way up the stairs and quietly set two glasses of water and and Advil in each room. She was pleasantly surprised to find Luna awake and smiled at her as she placed the water on her bedside table. Luna wiped her and blinked a few times, smiling once she saw Echo. Echo nodded at her again before retreating out of the room, allowing the brunette some privacy to deal with her pounding headache.

***

It was 3 hours later when the first person arrived downstairs. Unsurprisingly, it was Anya. She seemed the least drunk out of the group. Echo looked up from her phone when she heard the stairs creak and smiled as Anya winced, the brighter lights of the bar only increasing her headache.

Echo chuckled at her and walked over, placing a soothing hand on her forearm. Anya smiled slightly at her and nodded, asking if there was anywhere they could find food. Echo quickly withdrew her hand and led Anya through to the small kitchen setup in the back room. Together, they got to work, preparing enough food to feed a group of hungover adults.

***

10 minutes later and the last person was dragging themselves down the stairs and into the bar. Most of the food was already gone and Echo was hurriedly making more, with only half of the fully fed. It didn't take long after that for everyone to finish and gather all their stuff, trapping out of the bar like a horde of zombies. Echo was left with a few thank yous and goodbyes, a set of dirty plates and an uncomfortably empty stomach.

She sighed and grabbed her jacket, leafing thought the pockets to find some money for food. She paused when she came across a small slip of paper. Curiously, she pulled it out. 

_I left you some food in the back room. If you won't take care of yourself, I guess I'll have to do it_  
_Luna_  
_P.S, call me xxx-xxx-xxx_

Echo smiled widely and tucked the note back into her pocket, walking back towards the kitchen and finding a plate of food there for her. She decided maybe she would call Luna.

***

The next time Echo saw all of them again was Christmas.

Raven had been in the bar every fortnight, occasionally bringing Anya, Lincoln and Octavia had come back to apologise for not recognising her once Raven told them who she was and Clarke and Lexa had come in once on a date, but had only given her a quick smile and an extra tip when they left. 

Luna had been texting her constantly and calling as much possible but she hadn't found time to come into the bar again due to her job. She had told Echo that she worked as a therapist and Echo had stared at her in awe, instantly earning more respect for her. She had only laughed when Echo explained that she thought Luna was basically a hero, she saved peoples lives, it made sense. Echo may have looked at her website after and found that she was highly recommended and most clients loved her. 

Now though, she was really wishing she could say no to the girl. 

They had been talking over the phone when Luna had brought up Christmas, asking what Echo's plans were. She had barely gotten halfway through her shamed explanation that she had nowhere to go and would just be staying at the bar when Luna interrupted her and told her to join the group for Christmas. She had tried desperately to say that _she would only get in the way_ and _she would be fine at the bar_ but Luna wasn't taking no for an answer. 

So now she was standing at the door of Clarke and Lexa's new house with Luna, wringing her hands nervously and hoping that Luna had already told everyone that she would be there too.

***

Echo felt slightly stupid for being so nervous now.

The door had opened a second after Luna knocked and Raven had bowed dramatically, pointing in the directions of the living room. Luna had laughed and Echo had smiled at her only, following her inside. Raven gave her a small smile and a nod, then taken her arm and used it to help her walk.

Everyone was waiting in the living room, curled up in couches and basking the warmth of the crackling fire. Anya was up in a second and taking Raven of her arm and into her lap immediately. Luna smiled at the room and Echo copied, trying to ignore everyone's gaze on her. She needn't have worried, because soon Luna was dragging her off on a tour of the house and Raven was winking at her suggestively and maybe this Christmas wouldn't be so bad.

***

They all got progressively more drunk throughout the day and stuffed themselves with food. No one said anything when Echo only had a gift for Luna and only Luna had a gift for Echo, or when they curled up on their sofa same as all the couples, or when they staggered up to Luna's room and collapsed there for the night. And when only Luna was there in the morning, they all just smiled sympathetically and gave her a hug.

***

Echo didn't know why she had left but when she woke up there she was, in a small room that Clarke and Lexa had given to Luna. The walls had photos and drawings and some quotes and the wardrobe was full of clothes and desk was cluttered and it all just felt so _Luna_ that she had to leave. 

She had carefully slipped out of Luna's arms and picked up the small bracelet that Luna had given her. It had a bow and arrow on it and intricate patterns that resemble the sea. Luna had explained shyly that the bow and arrow represented Echo and the sea was herself. Echo had promised herself that she would never take it off.

Ignoring all the happy family photos on the wall, she tiptoed down the stairs and, grabbing her coat, left the house.

Luna never asked her why she left that morning and their conversations resumed as normal, texting and calling whenever possible. 

***

The first time Luna kissed her, it was slow and soft, waiting for her to reject the touch. The second time was less slow and less soft, igniting a fire in her stomach. And the third was whilst she was dragging her up the stairs of the closed bar and to their room. 

Luna stayed the night.

***

And now, 2 years later, here she was, kneeling in front of Luna, asking her to marry her. Her newfound family stood and watched and she could feel the proud smiles and happy tears making everything just a bit easier. 

And when Luna threw herself at Echo, knocking them both on the floor, and placed thousands of kisses on her neck, Echo knew there was nowhere she would rather be.

**Author's Note:**

> so this is my first time writing on Ao3 so I apologise if the formatting is off. its also been a while since I wrote anything so go easy on me, please.


End file.
